The death of endurance sports in America
On Thursday, after 13 years of dogged allegations, Lance Armstrong finally threw in the towel. Admittedly, I have been an Armstrong fan since I was in my teens. Lance was a phenom, winning world titles and short stage races in America. I saw him obliterate the field in the Tour Du Pont - finishing what seemed to be a week before the next guy crossed the line. Then he achieved hero-status, beating cancer and conquering the sporting world. I give and raise money for his foundation, not because of the man, but for the cause.
Say what you will about his guilt or innocence, but the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) has done something far greater than their intended prosecution of Armstrong – they’ve killed endurance sports in America.
While that may seem a little dramatic on the surface, what is stopping them from pursuing this same line of “justice” upon whomever they feel it is deserved? Travis Tygart, the Grand Pubah of USADA, has wanted this day to come for a long, long time. I don’t know what Mr. Armstrong has done in the past to slight Mr. Tygart, but the verdict has now been read. The witch will be burned at the stake.
Before the ink was dry on Thursday night, USADA vacated all of Armstrong’s victories, in essence making the second place finisher the new champion. Let’s take a look at those who finished second:
1999 – Alex Zulle – part of the Festina affair, admitted to using PEDs.
2000 – Jan Ullrich – Found guilty of using PEDs.
2001 – Jan Ullrich
2002 – Joseba Beloki – implicated in a large doping scandal.
2003 – Jan Ullrich
2004 – Andreas Kloden – Longtime teammate of Ullrich. Implicated.
2005 – Ivan Basso – Found guilty of using PEDs. Served 2-year ban.
In the effort to clean up cycling, Mr. Tygart’s new “winners” have at best, been implicated but never convicted – just like Mr. Armstrong – or at worst, served bans for various doping offenses. What this list does show is a pattern of performance enhancing drug use within the pro ranks. If you subscribe to that argument, why are we having this discussion at all? Everyone was doing it so there was an even playing field.
For argument’s sake, throughout his career, Armstrong passed hundreds of doping tests administered by USADA and other anti-doping agencies. According to Armstrong, he never failed a single test for PEDs or any other banned substances.
Lance retired in 2005. Eventually, boredom overcame him and he made a comeback a few years later. Lance never won another Tour, but he did finish on the podium again. There were rumors, articles and accusations levied every other week, it seemed. Part of this is the fault of Armstrong and his handlers. The Armstrong entourage has included a few dubious associations. On the balance, that doesn’t equate to guilt. But the optics are very poor, especially in today’s celebrity obsessed society.
After his second retirement, it would seem the Armstrong saga would have faded. But the Department of Justice opened an inquiry that lasted two years. The federal prosecutors couldn’t make the case in court, due to… wait for it – lack of evidence against Armstrong.
Not so fast! The USADA is what you would call a quasi-governmental agency. The federal government funds them, but your tax dollars have no oversight by Congress. So where the American judicial system failed, Tygart the Terrible has succeeded.
The USADA gave Mr. Armstrong a matter of days to respond to allegations written in a letter addressed to Lance and others associated with him. No response would be an admission of guilt, said the USADA. With no burden of proof to fulfill, the allegations were at best, vague. No specific accusers were listed, no specific cheating process or protocol was listed… in essence, the letter was a, “we gotcha, just admit it.”
The rest of the storyline has been played out in the media over the last few weeks. Armstrong got an extension, he then sued USADA in federal court for a permanent injunction, and he lost. Although it should be known the Judge did acknowledge this was likely a witch-hunt, but he lacked the legal authority to act.
Under the realization that this would never go away, probably the first time in his life, Lance gave up.
No one should fault him. The writing was on the wall. He would have been found guilty by an arbitration panel, essentially a kangaroo court, in a few weeks time.
So why is this the death of endurance sports in America?
The precedent has been set. If the USADA can take down America’s greatest endurance athlete without having to prove any allegations, what’s to stop them from investigating the next American superstar, your local weekend road ride or that personal best you set pedaling home after-work? A silly scenario matched by only a more absurd form of “justice.”
Since his second retirement, Lance has taken up triathlons. Prior to his cycling career, Lance was a world-class triathlete. Turns out, into his 40s, he’s still pretty darn good at swimming, biking and running. The addition of the Lance-factor to triathlons, Ironman competitions and X-terra (off-road triathlons), has created a huge insurgence of participants in these races. That will soon fade, harming the sport and removing the influx of sponsor dollars generated by a superstar like Lance.
If Lance doped and could beat the system, why couldn’t everyone else? What if he didn’t do it? I don’t think we’ll ever really know the answer unless Mr. Armstrong actually admits to using. One thing is for certain, Armstrong is a genetic wunderkind. Lab tests have shown that his heart can pump more blood than average, his body uses that oxygen more efficiently and his muscles produce less lactic acid than you or I.
But he cheated, and everyone knows it. Right?
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